Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice inspires, educates, and mobilizes people to unite across differences and to act from their shared ethical and spiritual values in pursuit of peace with social and environmental justice.

Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice envisions a world free from violence, including the violence of war, poverty, oppression, and environmental devastation. To enact this vision, we commit to nurture a community in which compassion and respect foster actions that dismantle systems of violence while simultaneously creating systems of peace, justice, and ecological sustainability.

The 2018 ICPJ Winter Newsletter is available for download. Check it out for a report back from the 2018 Facing Race Conference, updates on Congregational Sanctuary and human rights organizing for immigrant youth, and much more.

Washtenaw Poor People’s Campaign-Moral Fusion Summit

Challenging the Racial & Economic Caste System in Washtenaw County

Saturday, January 26, 2019: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Brown Chapel AME, 1043 W. Michigan Ave. Ypsilanti, MI 48197

By listening to each other, we hope to create a common agenda for the Poor People’s campaign in our county by identifying and prioritizing strategic actions that can remove the barriers that keep people trapped in systemic poverty. These priorities will come out of our workshop discussions on: Housing, Health Care and Disability, Immigration, Policing, Criminal Justice, Veterans’ Concerns, Employment & Wages, K-12 Education, Environmental Justice, and LGBTQ Justice.

This year marks the 6th anniversary of the heartbreaking Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, CT. Since then, 500,000 Americans have been killed or injured by guns. Gun violence impacts all communities; victims, survivors, and families are often forgotten.

We invite the Washtenaw County community to join us in this
non-denominational vigil of loving remembrance for all who have fallen victim to gun violence. The evening includes live music, a student performance, and messages of hope.

We urge you to join us in our effort to continue to shine a light on the devastating epidemic of gun violence in our nation.

Mohamed Soumah, a 44-year-old man from the West African former French colony of Guinea-Conakry who has been threatened by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with immediate deportation, has taken sanctuary in Ann Arbor Friends Meeting House (Quakers). Mohamed, who has been living and working in the United States for fifteen years, suffers from a serious, life-threatening disease that requires ongoing medical attention. According to his physician, he is essentially on life support. His home country lacks adequate facilities for this kind of care, so returning there would be a death sentence. His mother, who suffered the same hereditary condition, died there due to inadequate treatment. The average per capita income in Guinea is $825/year, and average life expectancy is 52 years. The United Nations Development Program ranks Guinea 175th of 189 countries included in the Human Development Index rankings.

Advocate to the ICE Detroit Field Office to give Mohamed Soumah a stay of removal for medical reasons as the medical facilities in his home country are inadequate to provide him the lifesaving care he needs. Contact [email protected]

Our hearts are broken by the news of the mass shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh earlier today. Our thoughts and prayers go to those affected by this hate crime: the families who have lost loved ones, the broader Jewish community who feels a renewed fear of the continued threat of anti-Semetic violence, and members of other communities targetted by hate groups who see in this attack a reminder of their own vulnerability.

The shooter, Robert D. Bowers pursued unjust ends through unjust means. His white Christian nationalist ideology led him to seek a country that put members of his community above others. He pursued this unjust end through demonization and violence.

This crime follows just days after the series of pipe bomb attacks on Democratic lawmakers and their supporters and ricin-laden to the President. This series of attacks reminds us that demonization and hate speech have consequences.

“Justice, justice shall you pursue.” These crimes call us again to rededicate ourselves to the just ends: a society of inclusion and equity for all faiths, ethnicities, and genders. These crimes also call us pursue these goals through just means–coragously challenging the idoelogies of bigotry and supremecism while avoiding the seductive traps of demonization and violence.

As I write this the death toll stands at 11. May their memories be a blessing. May their families find comfort. And may we all join together in the just pursuit of a world of inclusion through just means.